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Komodo Dragons Found Venemous

In a recent study Bryan Fry of the University of Melbourne in Australia, removed what seems to be a venom gland from a terminally ill Komodo Dragon in the zoo.

In 2006 Fry conducted a study which showed that known venomous lizards, such as the Gila monster of the south-western US, were in the same lineage as Komodo dragons.

It went on to describe how the venom systems in the lizards and snakes actually came from a common ancestor.

As of today, members of the same team have now used a computer simulation to model the skulls of Komodo dragons. They found that their bite was only one-sixth as strong as that of the Australian saltwater crocodile, which has a similarly-sized skull.

Instead, Komodo skulls seem optimised to withstand stress along their length - that is, to resist prey that is pulling away.

Further, the team took MRI scans of Komodo heads, identifying a large venom gland and ducts that lead to spaces between the animals' teeth.

Dissection of the duct showed toxins that are known to lower blood pressure and act as anti-coagulants - causing prey to go into shock and bleed to death.

For years the theory of bacterial growth has been touted as the reason for infection when that is not it at all. The Komodo Dragon causes severes gashes that are big enough to get the venom in. The delivery system is not as efficient as the King Cobras.

With all this discovery one has to wonder why the glands were not detected in other dissected specimens in the past?

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